The specific case study is the Josip Broz Tito Gallery for the Art of the Non-Aligned Countries (henceforth the Gallery) in Podgorica, Montenegro – founded as an institution (later becoming a joint institution of the NAM countries) with the aim to collect, safeguard and promote the art of the NAM countries. The focus of research was put on the Gallery’s work and art legacy following the disastrous dissolution of Yugoslavia. The decolonial approach in the own research process as well as in the work of the Institution (Centre for Contemporary Art Montenegro) which inherited the valuable Gallery collection were reflected upon likewise.
The project argues that the emancipatory potential of the nonaligned art solidarity expressed with the Gallery in Podgorica lies in the following aspects: the context in which the Gallery’s collection is acquired; the methodology of collecting – based on art solidarity and gifts, which in turn influenced the methodology of systematisation and representation; the principle of self-representation and collaboration; the integration of local communities and the establishment of a platform for the artists from the nonaligned countries. Moreover, it highlights the idea that such heterogeneous collections should not belong to a national institution. The project asserts, for the Humboldt Forum to become a true pluriversal museum, it must be transformed into a transnational institution.
The artwork is organised around three parts: The Map presents a complex web of art solidarity relations. The Letter contains concerns regarding the nonaligned art legacy of the Gallery and the decolonial work of the Centre for Contemporary Art Montenegro. Highlighting the prospect of the Gallery model for future decolonial discourses and cultural practices, six guidelines for the Decolonial Museum are envisaged and presented as the Statements in the form of posters.
The work was presented: as part of the Ph.D. and PostDoc exhibition, taking place on 18 November 2022 at the Library of the Bauhaus University Weimar, and as part of the Day of Sciences exhibition, taking place on 30 November 2022 at the Library of the Bauhaus University Weimar likewise.
